The product owner role is one of three key roles in the Scrum software development process. Industry demand for product owners is growing exponentially, and educators need effective techniques for teaching students the knowledge, skills, and competencies required to be effective product owners. To address this need, this Teaching Tip describes how…

This design case documents the development of a new online training program to teach circuit court interns in Wise County, Virginia, how to create smart land records, or land record abstracts stored on a blockchain. The authors first describe the instructional context behind land record abstraction and the clients' original specifications for the…

This article discusses best practices for evaluating open source software for use in library projects, based on the authors' experience evaluating electronic publishing solutions. First, it presents a brief review of the literature, emphasizing the need to evaluate open source solutions carefully in order to minimize Total Cost of Ownership. Next,…

Maintaining secure, convenient administration of the PC system environment can be a significant drain on resources. Deskside visits can greatly increase the cost of supporting a large number of computers. Even simple tasks, such as tracking inventory or updating software, quickly become expensive when they require physically visiting every…

The University of Washington (UW) adopted a dual-provider cloud-computing strategy, focusing initially on software as a service. The original project--to replace an obsolete alumni e-mail system--resulted in a cloud solution that soon grew to encompass the entire campus community. The policies and contract terms UW developed, focusing on…

The Missouri district is a small rural school district with 450 students and 51 staff with a total of 210 client computers. The district consists of two schools (K-6 and 7-12) housed in a single building. This document contains the results of the four 2004 Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) case studies: (1) Software costs; (2) Hardware costs; (3)…

Describes the EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval) system developed for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for SEC disclosure filings. Ownership and control of the database, hardware, and software is considered; the Information Industry Association position is described; and the need for greater public access to…

Given the current forms of economic production and corporate markets, the liberating and democratic potential of digital information is counteracted by the concentration of media ownership, as well as by policy, legislation, and the development of proprietary forms of technology. The notion of "intellectual property" produces artificial scarcity…

Digital video and accompanying editing software are increasingly becoming more accessible for researchers in terms of ease of use and cost. The rich, visually appealing and seductive nature of video-based data can convey a strong sense of direct experience with the phenomena studied (Pea, 1999). However, the ease of selection and editing of…

No college or university last year joined the 14 institutions that already require students to buy computers. The reasons include: greater than expected costs of supporting required computers, lack of educational software, and adequency of computer laboratories are sufficient for the needs of most students. (MLW)

Discusses Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), a method through which technology administrators may understand and manage all costs of technology-related purchases. Describes six categories of costs to consider during the planning process: professional development; support; software; replacement costs; retrofitting; and connectivity. (AEF)

A series of changes in intellectual property law over the last 30 years has made it more difficult for researchers, scientists, authors, and artists to cooperate and collaborate on critically important projects. At the same time, the advance of communications technologies, specifically the Internet, promises to foster an explosion in creativity,…

Describes Kodak's Photo CD technology, a format for the storage and retrieval of photographic images in electronic form. Highlights include current and future Photo CD formats; computer imaging technology; ownership issues; hardware for using Photo CD; software; library and information center applications, including image collections and…

Copyright law, together with the market logic it carries, penetrates deeply into our daily life. The copyright regime is so restrictive that it turns a normal learning process into a series of potential copyright violations. The Free Software Movement (FSM) represents a substantial community effort to counter this trend. It seeks to supersede the…

Discusses results of a 1997 "CMC News" readers' survey of the top 10 CD-ROM titles used by schools. Compares results of previous surveys (1993 and 1995). Four tables and figures show number of users for each of the 10 CD-ROMs, top-10 rankings for year 1993, 1995, and 1997, increase in ownership of 7 of the 10 titles, and total respondents owning…